Rising From the Ashes
by 5dreamcatcher
Summary: After leaving home, Evelyn has gone against her better judgment and is on the road to no where. Having barely accepted the fact that she is a mutant, she is desperate for a friend and sign that she has made the right decision. After having a run in with two equally intriguing people, things start to look up, though she finds herself on a road she never expected.
1. Chapter 1

****Author's note: Alright, I'll be blunt and get to all the points so that you don't have to get bored before you even start reading the story. If anyone reads this note that is. Which I hope you do so that I don't get reviews stating things that I'll hopefully be addressing here.**

**Okay, this story is experimental for me. I have never been amazing at writing, but I absolutely LOVE reading and being immersed in someone else's story. I have always wished that I could create a world that someone else could get lost in like I do. I want this story to be a place where I can receive criticism so that I may work to improve my skills and storyline developments. So please, please bear with me, as this story may seem as though it has no point, or as though it's going nowhere. I admit, there isn't really a clear story line right now, and I have no idea what the climax is. I will be focusing on building a relationship between the three (or more) characters that will be introduced and making sure that you, the reader feel as though they are believable people and want to know what their story is/will be.**

**Which brings me to my next point. As I am in the X-Men section, I will be introducing characters from the X-Men universe that are NOT MY CREATIONS. I am warning you now, I ****_will_**** be using characters that already exist and they ****_most likely will be out of character_****. I am using characters that I have fallen in love with over my obsessive 10 year love affair with the X-Men and want to use them in my story, but I am afraid I will be focusing more on what will work for my story the best, rather than trying to make my story fit around them. So I am very sorry if this upsets anyone.**

**So here is it, if anyone has any questions feel free to PM me and I'll do my best to clear anything up. So, just to be painfully clear- DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE X-MEN OR ANY OF THEIR CHARACTERS OR STORYLINES, THEY BELONG TO MARVEL.****

_Rising From the Ashes_

CHAPTER 1

Lost, not forgotten. That is what her mother had told her she would be after she was gone. She had tried to sneak out during the night, but that damn last step on the stairs had been blowing her cover since her junior year of high school. By senior year she had learned to jump the step, but that night was a little more nerve wracking then slipping out to a party at 1 am had been, so the trick had slipped her mind.

It was time. She had known that for a while. Actually making the move on the other hand, that was a whole other story. Packing up the essentials and slipping away in the dead of the night without telling anyone had been difficult. Waiting until everyone was awake and wanting to know the reason why she was leaving would have been harder though. She chose the lesser of the two evils. She knew it was wrong, but she was a coward. There were a lot of things that she _knew_; to list them all would mean purchasing several spiral bound notebooks and wasting most her life doing so. Let's just face reality; running away equaled a whole easier of a time than facing them and their questions. Well, on the emotional side of things it was easier. The physical side did not scare her. Money could always be found somewhere, shelters were always scattered around. The necessities of life could be dealt with one way or another. It was people that were the hard part, family to be specific. You could always lose a friend and find a new one, but there was no replacing a mother or an older sister and so on.

It just seemed right. The timing was perfect, if there was a good time to ditch your life, that is. She had been working since she had turned 15 and had a pretty hefty amount sitting around in her bank account. She knew she was fortunate to have had her parents pay for most of her expenses, a lot of kids were required to pitch in their fair share when they had the means to do so, but her parents had told her to keep it all, saying that they knew she would need it more than they did down the road. Boy, were they right, she just had not known _how_ right at the time. Now that she was 19 and felt as though she was her own person, she felt that familiar pull in the other direction that had been nagging at her for a good year and a half now. Not that it was anything that they had done, well, it kind of was. Okay, it could not exactly be pinpointed what the true _thing_ was that got her going, but there was something, and now she was here, on the road heading in the opposite direction of home and no clue where she was headed.

After driving for about an hour she had had enough of driving and once she crossed the Bay into Bemus Point she pulled into the parking lot of a hotel. It had a name that she recognized, a chain that spread across the US that was fairly nice without blowing a hole in her pocket. The lobby lights were dimmed and there were few people around. The sun would be rising soon, so everyone was still in bed. She was not far from home yet, but this was good enough for now.

"Name?" The receptionist asked.

"Uh, Evelyn Mckowen." She replied distractedly. "What's that all about?"

The man glanced behind his shoulder at the TV hanging on the wall behind him. It showed footage of armed men charging into the White House. "It's been on all day, haven't you heard? A mutant tried to kill the president."

"Oh…" Evelyn took the room key from him, still distracted by the TV. Swinging her bag over her shoulder she took a step backward and bumped into the next person in line. "Oh, I'm so sorry!"

The guy squeaked and balanced on one foot, "Don't worry about it, didn't need it anyway." He joked, his accent was thick. He straightened his hat and smirked at her.

Evelyn smiled weakly and released her grip on his arm once he regained his balance. "Thanks." She said to the receptionist as she made a beeline for the elevator.

* * *

Lost in her thoughts, Evelyn sighed and threw herself rather unladylike on the bed. Even though she had been driving on her own all night she had not allowed herself to think too much about what she had done. Now that she did not have road to distract her, she found her mind straying to the last thing she wanted to think about. She knew people would think her crazy for leaving her comfortable home in Edinboro. It took all the energy she had left not to jump up and go back. She knew she would regret it though. Not only would it be embarrassing, but deep down Evelyn knew she was going towards something that she did not want to let slip through her fingers. Her intuition was screaming too loudly for her to ignore it.

Before she knew it, her eyes were closing and she was losing grip on consciousness. She could see the July sun rising out her window, _my first day_, she would sleep as long as she wanted, _it's not like I have anywhere to be._

* * *

Evelyn awoke to the comforting feeling of heat on her face. The sun was high in the sky and its rays were intense as they shone through the glass door that led to her balcony. Smiling, she pulled her body up from the bed and lumbered through the doorway after she fiddled with the latch for a minute.

Wiping the sleep from her eyes she squinted up at the ball in the sky. The temperature could not be any more then 80, she sensed. The warmth comforted her as she stood with her eyes closed for a moment, soaking the heat in. The more heat she absorbed, the more energized she became. The one thing that she knew would never let her down, her friend the sun. As long as the fiery ball was around, she felt safe; it was her main source of power.

There was that word again; power. It was easily one of the most craved things in the world, yet one of the most feared if the tables were turned. It was something that she had been dealing with for close to three years. More like accepting cruel truth, not dealing with it. She had a power of her own, not one that she had asked for, but she had it regardless. Some people told her she was cursed, others were fascinated and examined her like a bug under a microscope. Either way it was attention she had not asked for. The spotlight was not the type of light that she thrived in. Her power had manifested late, by what she had gathered from extensive web searches. Normally a mutation manifests around puberty, which Evelyn had hit and recovered from years ago. It was not a dramatic reveal either. One web search had revealed that sometimes a 'mutation' would reveal itself during a dire situation, or a traumatic experience. She had been sick for a few days and sneezed out a thin layer of ash on her bed covers while she was sleeping. She was woken by her mother's screams as she dumped her mug of tea on her flaming bed sheets. She certainly had a power of her own. She just did not know how to control it yet. The two and a half years since she developed her 'power' she had mostly been doing her best to ignore it. That was what her family had agreed was her best course of action. It was not that she did not like her ability; she just did not know how everyone else would take it if they knew. Talk about the story of her life, _what would everyone think?_ It had proven very difficult to conceal too. Evelyn had gone through her fair share of awkward situations and dumb explanations, just like everyone else. Her explanations just tended to be ten times more ridiculous then everyone else's did, which was how she avoided getting caught out most of the time, the excuse was so weird and unbelievable that most people just did not even bother asking.

* * *

After taking a long and unnaturally hot shower, she raked a comb through her hair dark blonde hair and put some clothes on. Her favorite comfy white Tee and grey track pants. She would have dressed more publicly appropriate had she thought she would do more than accidentally make eye contact with some stranger.

Down in the lobby, things had picked up their pace from when she had arrived in the wee hours of the morning. Business men and women bustled about, grabbing food from the complimentary buffet table as they talking to their Bluetooth and parents called to their kids to stop running around. Evelyn quietly made her way to the buffet table and set her sights on the bagels; her regular breakfast choice. Sticking it in the toaster oven she turned away to make a tea.

While her chai was steeping and her toast toasted, she leaned against the table and took a peek around. There was a guy beside her, just to her left, who held a bagel, waiting for the toaster too she presumed. He had oddly colored eyes. They reminded Evelyn of the ocean and how in some parts that was close to the surf the color of the water seemed as though it were a sort of glowing, turquoise color. They were beautiful, yet seemed mysteriously unnatural.

"Hey," He smiled awkwardly

Good god, she had been staring at his eyes. "Sorry." She immediately turned away.

"Uh," The sound he made was loud and urgent.

Evelyn turned and followed his sight line to the toaster; a small flame had formed on her bagel and was emitting a thin curl of smoke. "AH!"

Without thinking, she reached her hands in and blanketed her hand over the flame before it could grow any more.

"Jesus,"

****So I'm not sure about that ending, I wasn't sure where to cut it off. Too abrupt? Not dramatic enough? Don't understand anything that's going on? Let me know! :) xxoo****


	2. Chapter 2

**Welcome to those of you who are new, and to those of you returning, welcome back! Here's chapter 2, I know I need more filler, stuff to make the scene. I just wanted to get something else up. I hope it's acceptable. Enjoy!**

**xxoo**

****DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE X-MEN OR ANY OF THEIR CHARACTERS OR STORYLINES, THEY BELONG TO MARVEL AND/OR ANY OTHER OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS.****

CHAPTER 2

His exclamation came out slowly, "Didn't that hurt?" He stared down at her hands, still grasping the crispy lump.

She glanced down at her smoking bagel. "Oh," She clicked in, "Yeah silly me, that's going to sting later, huh?" She laughed nervously as she pretend fumbled the bagel, as though it were burning her. It was not however, as her skin was resistant to such a temperature.

Tossing it in the garbage she grabbed her tea and turned away from him. Her heel squeaked on the tile floor as she turned. "Wait a minute, you're not burned? I saw you grab the fire."

Ignoring his comment, she picked up her pace in the opposite direction. Which way was her room again? She felt as though all the hushed voices in the room were talking about her.

She could hear his footsteps following her. "Wait! It's okay, I know what you ar-"

"NO THANK YOU." She blurted out as a pathetic attempt to stop him from talking. She turned around to look at him, only the get a face full of his chest. "Oomph!"

"Whoa, are you okay?" He asked bluntly, steadying her by the shoulder. Some of her tea hit the ground with a soft slapping nose against the sleek beige tiles.

Evelyn tried to wave his hand away. "Stop following me, stop talking- just stop."

Looking upset, he did not let go of her shoulder, "It's okay," he pleaded moving closer to whisper to her. "I'm one too."

Evelyn shifted her grey eyes to his turquoise. Before a word could be spoken she saw his eyes shift behind her. Looking over her shoulder, another man had approached them silently. He wore a fedora and a sly smirk that smeared across his face.

"I'm thinking it would be in your best interest to let her go." He spoke in a quiet and relaxed tone. Evelyn recognized his thick accent from the man that she backed into the night before at the check-in desk.

Her heart thudded at the idea that they had created a scene. _Had anyone else noticed? _ Her gaze shifted around the lobby of the hotel nervously. Goosebumps ran up her arms as she became more uneasy about the whole situation.

Apparently oblivious as to why the man had approached them, the younger boy had not let go and continued to look past Evelyn at him.

Raising his eyebrows, he removed his hat and took another step forward. "I'm sorry, would you like some persuasion?"

"What? No, we were just talking about- things." Evelyn could feel his body heat radiating from him more prominently as he became increasingly embarrassed.

"I don't think she wants to talk anymore."

"I think she can decide that for-"

"Yeah, I'm going to go." Evelyn whipped around and began walking away again. Not the kind of breakfast that she had planned.

Without looking back, she pushed forward and pressed the call button for the elevator. After what seemed like an eternity, the doors opened. She pressed her floor number and waited for the doors to scrape back shut.

"Hold it!" _Oh great, Superman returns._

"Oh!" She exclaimed in a fake tone. She pressed a button and the doors began closing, "They won't stop, sorry!"

Her efforts to get the door to close were for nothing, as the man slipped his hand through the doors at the last second and squeezed himself in beside her.

"Oh, thank goodness." She shifted her gaze away.

"Yeah, thanks." His sarcasm dripped as he pushed his hair out of his face.

A moment passed as the two said nothing. Evelyn tapped the side of her Styrofoam cup and pursed her lips.

She could see their mangled reflections in the tarnished gold doors in front of them. He was watching her without even trying to conceal it. He was at least a head taller than her. Being taller than Evelyn did not take much however, as she stood at a measly 5'1". He had tanned skin and a mop of chocolate brown hair that sat just above his shoulders. Evelyn guessed that he was in his early to mid-twenties.

"You know, when a person does a favor like that for someone, said person usually says 'thank you'."

"Thank you." She gave him a stretched smile that made her eyes wrinkly.

Leaning a hand on the wall he gave a small airy laugh, "That's all?"

Evelyn rolled her eyes, and shoved her cup into his stomach. Surprised, he took it and looked at its contents. "Fine have my tea. It's cold anyway."

"Cold tea? I just saved your behind from being ousted in the lobby of a very busy hotel and you're thanking me with cold tea?"

Evelyn when rigid all over, her eyes going to him quickly. "You heard?"

He smiled slyly, "Yeah I heard. Don't worry your little head about it, I'm a mutant. The name's Remy." He held out his hand to her. Unsure if it was what he wanted, she hesitantly lifted her hand to his. "Remy LeBeau."

As he placed a kiss on her hand, he kept his eyes locked on her disbelieving ones.

"Seriously?" She cocked an eyebrow.

"I like to do things the old fashioned way." He moved out of her way as she made to depart the elevator. "Here, take your damn tea."

She smiled and shook her head, "No thanks, you can keep it."

"Hey-" He repeated, sticking his arm in the way of the closing doors, "I tell you mine, you tell me yours."

"Excuse me?"

"Your name," Remy grabbed her hand at her side and put the cup of tea in it.

"Oh, it's Evelyn." Being in his presence made her feel under dressed and self-conscious. She wished she had not worn her sweats. She tugged at her shirt clumsily.

"Well, I'm sure we'll see each other later, Evelyn." He said backing into the elevator. "Don't worry about that kid. He had pissed his pants by the time I left him."

"He's a mutant too." She said to him quietly.

He shrugged, "Whatever, didn't help him then did it?"

She frowned, "Just because he was a little socially awkward doesn't give you a right to be mean. I'm awkward too."

"I can see that, but not like him. You owe me."

She scoffed, "You mean for the favor I didn't ask for?"

"You owe me!" He repeated and let the doors slide shut.

* * *

Back in her room, Evelyn sat out on the balcony. Her legs were crossed in her chair and the wind was blowing slightly, moving her hair in front of her face. She silently contemplated the events that had happened not even an hour ago.

She felt horrible about the way that she had treated the boy in the lobby. He really had not been doing anything other than just trying to talk to her. She was so skittish about the subject to begin with; when he tried to blurt it out like that in front of all those people she had a panic attack. She had spent the last two years working with her family to control her powers to the best of her ability, but she had never made much progress. Sneezes still ended with bursts of ash, panic had her emitting heat waves of an unnatural temperature and with some practice unbeknownst to her family, she had learned to spit a fluid that could burn through even the toughest materials.

Evelyn knew that she would have to talk to him before she could feel better about what had happened. Resolving to do so later, she found herself pondering her next course of action. She was comfortable here for the time being, but what direction would she go in when it was time for her to leave? She had always wanted to see Niagara Falls, maybe she would head that way. Or maybe she would just go to Disney World. She wanted to think about it more before heading off.

Evelyn shifted her eyes up without moving her head to look at the sky. She sensed the temperature dropping and the slight gust of cool air. Rain was rolling in. _Better get inside._ Not something she usually liked to get caught in if she could avoid it. She shut the glass sliding door on the sad grey clouds and went to her suitcase. Knowing better this time around, she pulled on burgundy jeans and raked a brush through her hair. She would not get caught in those sweats again.

Evelyn looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. Her complexion was even more washed out than usual in this room because of the lack of color. The walls were white, the tub was white, and the tile floor was white.

She sneered, one side of her top lip lifting. "Great, I glow."

* * *

Evelyn waited as each 'ding' of the passing floors chimed. Since her first attempt went horribly, she decided that she would head back to the buffet table. It was well past noon now and her stomach was yelling at her so loudly that she was sure the woman in the elevator with her got off a floor early just to get away from her. She did not blame her.

Back in the lobby the table was looking scarce. She feared the germs that were lingering on food that had been picked up by children and forced back by their parents. Her Father had always told her that she was too picky about things like that. _But really, _she would say, _you never know_. In conclusion, a covered yogurt and granola were selected of the table that she could eat with a plastic spoon.

Finding a place to sit was easy. The hotel was fairly large and Evelyn figured she must have come around at a down time of year. Gobbling the yogurt down was her first priority. After that, she was not sure how she would find that boy. Who knows, maybe he checked out already and is miles away.

_After dealing with me like that?_ She thought, _I know I would. _With a sad face she stared out the window large wall window with her spoon halfway to her mouth. _I guess that is kind of what I did,_ she realized. She had not thought of what she had done as running. Evelyn wondered what her parents were thinking of her now. She hated the idea that they resented her for leaving without so much as a hug, but she knew she was too selfish to have done that, she did not want the pain of having to see their faces as she drove away. She never stopped to think about what her imagination would conjure up for her to agonize over. The images were devastating.

A quiet voice came from behind her, "Bad yogurt?" it asked.

She whipped around when she heard his voice. "Oh my gosh, I was just looking for you! I wanted to apologize."

He chuckled, gesturing to her lounging in the large velvet lazy boy, "Did you think I was hiding in the chair or…?"

Evelyn gave him an awkward smile. She realized how hollow her statement sounded by the looks of where he had found her. "No." She laughed weakly with him. How was she going to wheedle her way out of this one, she did not know.

"I thought maybe you had checked out." Evelyn swung her leg up on the chair so that she could swivel around to face him.

He made himself comfortable in his chair, looking at the sweeping view out the window in front of them, "No, I check out in a few days. Don't worry, I'll be here a while longer."

She smiled gratefully at his sarcasm. She had been worried that he would hold her bad attitude against her.

"You're not afraid I'll yell at you again?" Evelyn asked him, peeking over at his sea green eyes.

He knew it was best not to lie, "Of course I am," She looked at him regretfully, "But you aren't, because this time I won't give you a reason to."

Evelyn's expression brightened slowly as she understood he was not mad at her. It seemed as though she had fretted for absolutely nothing. He seemed to be in a good way, considering the humiliation that she had caused him. She had given him no reason to act so friendly towards her now.

"You wanted to apologize to me?" He shifted his position as he searched for his words. "You wouldn't have had to yell if I had just listened to what you were saying. You tried to tell me you didn't want to talk about it but I wouldn't listen. I should have." He paused, "I'm sorry."

She laughed out loud, "Are you kidding me? I _yell_ at you in public and you're saying sorry to _me_?"

"Well, when you put it that way…"

Brushing her hair out of her eyes, she leaned forward to talk quietly to him. She wanted to explain to him what had happened, why she treated him so harshly. The reason behind why she wanted to give him an explanation was a mystery to her though, she had barely even spoken to him yet and she felt the impending need to explain her actions.

"Look," The sentence began shakily, "I don't normally talk to people about… you know, but you deserve to know why I reacted the way I did."

His hand came up to halt her, "Don't worry, I understand. It's a touchy subject, I know. I was lucky to have people around me who supported me when they found out. I know that not everyone gets to have that luxury. I should never have pried you, I just, never mind."

Leaning closer, she urged him on. "No it's okay, go ahead."

"I haven't really known anyone else that's a muta- sorry… like _me_ before so, when I saw that you could _do_ things too, I… went a little overboard."

Her expression softened as she was able to relate to how he felt. She understood his confession all too well. Her mutation had left her feeling lonely for far too long, regardless of how hard the people who were closest to her tried to make her feel otherwise. "I understand."

His lips were pursed as his face showed him to be fighting what to say next. "Well, since you're not biting my head off," He extended his hand out, "I'm Noah."

She could not deny that she felt excitement welling up inside her. This guy was like her and he wanted to be her friend. For the first time since she found out that she was a mutant, she would have someone that she could truly be herself with. She would not have to lie about how she was feeling that day, or try to brush off weird accidents due to a sudden spurt of heat, or ash. She felt like a child on Christmas day.

Her shaky hand moved to embrace his sturdy one, "Evelyn."


End file.
